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[WHY] Twice the time but twice the benefits? Why some young men choose to serve as officers in the Korean military.

Published: 28 Mar. 2026, 07:00 Updated: 07 Apr. 2026, 14:41

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Lee Jee-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, salutes during an enlistment ceremony at the Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Sept. 23, 2025. [YONHAP]

When Lee Jee-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, enlisted in the Navy in September 2025, it marked the beginning of not the usual 18-, 20- or 21-month mandatory military service required by Korea, but of a 39-month commitment to the country.

That's because Lee did not join the Navy as an enlistee, but as an officer candidate.

All able-bodied Korean men must complete military service, but the service period for enlistees is 18 to 21 months, depending on the branch. However, it is 39 months for officer candidates across all branches if they enlist without prior military background such as having been in a military academy or the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) — a college-based program that trains students to become officers while they complete their university degrees.

The 39-month service period itself is much longer than that of enlistees, and so is the basic training period. The candidates must complete three months of basic training, unlike the five-week training required for enlisted members, before being commissioned.

With the period of service gap between the two groups also widening after 2018, the number of applicants for officer commissions shrank from around 5,400 in 2019 to about 3,800 in 2024, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

The longer service period for officers has remained unchanged for quite some time, while that for enlisted personnel fell to the 18-to-21-month range after a three-month gradual reduction that started in 2018 and was completed in 2020 under the Moon Jae-in administration.

But that has yet to stop some men from being commissioned today. Thousands of them still forgo a shorter enlistee service for a variety of reasons.

Why exactly do men choose to serve longer, and how does the experience benefit them while they are in the military or afterward?

More autonomy over military life

Serving as an officer provides an edge when it comes to academic continuity, as those choosing to do so all finish their undergraduate studies first and enlist with their bachelor’s degrees — required to serve as officers.

Lee Jee-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, salutes during the naval officer commissioning ceremony at the Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Nov. 28, 2025. [NEWS1]

Those who serve as enlistees, on the other hand, mostly enlist in the middle of their college years, which puts them in a situation where they have to catch on up studies that they may have forgotten during their service.

Officers also have greater control over their lives in the military than enlistees, as commissioned members do not live in barracks like enlisted personnel, but go home after work, allowing them to spend time with their families or pursue studies unrelated to the military.

“I was commissioned when I was 27, a bit of a late age to enlist, because I came back to Korea after studying overseas,” said Kang Min-hyoung, who finished his 39-month service as an Air Force officer in November 2022, during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. “I did not want to waste my time in the military as an enlistee, which is why I chose to enlist as an officer. Officers also go home after work, so I was commissioned with a plan to pursue studies in graduate school.”

Officers are allowed to study for their graduate degrees while in the military as long as they receive authorization from their commanders.

Officers take part in a training exercise at the Korea Combat Training Center in Inje, Gangwon, in a photo shared on May 15, 2022. [YONHAP]

“There were quite a few people in my unit that pursued graduate studies, and about five of my peers went through that process,” Kang said. “Many attended graduate school at night. A lot of them also prepared for professional licensing exams such as the certified public accountant and tax accountant exams in the military and passed the tests after their service.”

Enlistees also have some free time after finishing their assigned tasks each day, but lower-ranked members usually have extra duties such as cleaning barracks, shoveling snow or anything higher-ranked personnel require. Even when the enlisted members do have spare time on weekdays or weekends, they are not allowed to leave their bases unless it is a vacation or monthly assigned free time.

Learning hands-on work culture

Officers do not merely sit back and order enlistees around. They have to file a significant amount of paperwork, through which they can learn how to write official documents effectively.

That hands-on experience can enhance their overall ability to do administrative work, which is essential when looking to secure any desk job.

“My main appeal to my employers was my ability to write documents and make charts,” said Cho Seong-min, who completed his service as a Marines officer under the ROTC program in February 2025 and joined construction firm Hoban Construction. “Since I worked as a staff officer for a long time, I did a lot of paperwork such as writing reports, official documents or creating PowerPoint slides.”

A staff officer supports a commanding officer by planning operations, analyzing information, coordinating resources and advising on decisions rather than directly leading troops in the field.

Officers practice directing live-fire drills in a photo shared on May 23, 2025. [YONHAP]

The way officers handle this kind of high-level administrative work in the rigidly-structured military can give them insights into how organizations should function and what key decisions those in charge need to make.

“The military may seem like it is lacking a solid system, but it is actually a well-organized group,” Cho said. “Gaining hands-on experience in that kind of structured organization is a real advantage.”

Extra year as financial buffer

Officers can choose to stay in the military for one more year or longer after their mandatory service period, which comes with a higher pay than enlistees.

By the time officers are promoted to captain after completing their initial service period, their monthly pay rises to around 3 million won ($2,100) as of 2026 — higher than the 700,000-to-2 million won range earned by enlisted members.

Newly commissioned second lieutenants take an oath at a joint commissioning ceremony at the Gyeryongdae parade ground in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Feb. 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

This can act as a leverage for officers to make more savings in the military until they decide what to do after their service.

“As retiree pay increases and the salary level nearly matches that of civilian employees, staying on for an extra year even became something of a trend,” Kang said. “But other external factors also play a role. For example, it’s hard to find a job today.”

Emerging challenges

Opportunities for a higher-level work experience and financial gains may have acted as incentives, but the challenge for the government going forward would be continuing to attract enough officer candidates despite the narrowing pay gap between officers and enlistees.

Second lieutenants — the lowest officer rank — made around 1.8 million won monthly in 2019, nearly five times more than the 400,000 won staff sergeants brought home.

However, the numbers in 2026 tell a different story: The pay for second lieutenants has increased slightly, to around 2.1 million won before taxes, but pay for staff sergeants is about 2 million won without taxes, as salary for enlisted members is not subject to taxation.

Family members of a newly commissioned officer pin on his insignia during a joint commissioning ceremony at the parade ground of Gyeryongdae in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]

That narrowing pay gap, coupled with the widening service period gap between the two groups, has resulted in fewer men applying to become officers since 2019. Around 5,400 Korean men applied to serve as officer candidates in 2019. That number dropped to the 4,100-range in 2022 and hit the 3,800-mark in 2024.

“Of course the commissioning rate will drop,” Cho said about the narrowing pay gap’s impact. “Before enlistment, how many things can young men really compare when deciding between serving as an officer and serving as an enlisted soldier? Most of the advantages of being an officer are hard to measure. You have more freedom, you improve your writing skills and you gain experience leading people and running an organization. Those are real benefits, but you only really understand their value after you experience them.

“So before enlistment, the things young men can actually compare are pay, length of service and job prospects afterward. If they don’t see any advantage in those three areas, why would they choose to serve as officers? Unless they feel strongly about becoming an officer.”

Efforts to attract officers

The service period gap between officers and enlistees still remains wide as of 2026, but the government has not been blind to the narrowing pay gap between the two.

The Defense Ministry this year has already increased duty pay — additional compensation for patrolling through the night or other assigned duties — from 20,000 won to 30,000 won on weekdays and 40,000 won to 100,000 won on weekends, while setting a plan to gradually raise the annual salary of entry-level officers to 40 million won by 2029.

Newly commissioned Air Force officers toss their caps into the air after a commissioning ceremony for the 154th officer candidate class at the parade ground of the Air Force Education and Training Command in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, on May 27, 2025. [YONHAP]

There is more than just salary. The incentive payment, previously offered to those who pass the officer candidate entrance exam while still in university, is now available to those who take the exam after college.

The incentive payment is 12 million won as of 2026, giving all officers a chance to save a solid amount of money before starting their military careers.

Such financial gains could serve as ways to keep a sufficient number of officers — for a period of time. With the welfare system constantly improving for all military personnel, service as an officer will likely need more upsides in order to edge out other options.

The bottom line, though, is that officer service is not merely a method to complete military duties, but an avenue for men to prepare themselves — in several ways — ahead of transitioning to their post-military lives.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]